"Anyone can fly it"
 

I'd be interested to hear CAA's take on this...

"The aircraft can fly up to a mile high"
"Anyone can fly it: you don't need a trained pilot to fly it"

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fca_1361465596

To answer the question I was about to ask....

The jetpack is powered by petrol and allows for vertical take-off and landing thanks to two powerful fans. Flight times last up to 30 minutes.
Added features include a ballistic parachute that deploys should the engines fail. Mr Bowker said there had been a great deal of interest in the device, not only from companies but also from individuals looking to use it for recreation and to "fly the dream".


Read more: World's first practical civilian jetpack goes on sale for Dh367,300 - The National
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There's nothing new about 'jetpacks' - this may just be a more efficient one than previous developments.

I'd simply like to know how the manufacturer expects unlicensed users to be able to buzz around at 1,500m.

I'd also suggest that anyone unused to flight would crap themselves the minute it hoicked them off the ground :eek:

the very thought of joe bloggs "having a go" is mind-boggling....mind you, cost would deter a lot, though hang-gliders,powered parachutes and early Microlights were entirely unregulated in their early days.

Wonder if the authorities will once again be reactive if these sort of devices "take off"

I assume that the response will be much like that following the introduction of microlights; nothing for a decade and then gradual regulation - the "post-911"/"7 July 2005" thing may be used to speed it up a little.

In the early 1980's I used to live in Thurrock in Essex - there was a hang-glider pilot from Tilbury who added a chainsaw motor to the front of his hang-glider and a tube to a pusher prop (remade the crankcase in glassfibre to save weight), a giant "clothes peg" throttle which he operated with his teeth. Anyway I do recall him skimming above the roof tops - may very well have been the last true unregulated flying in the UK.

It would be an excellent tool for a suicide bomber - take off from any back yard in London, hover over 27 approach and pick your target.

(I trust this won't be considered an irresponsible post - if I can think of it, anyone can)

Sallyann,

Many tools, devices, gismo's etc are handy if you're a terrorist. What's your point?

Most of those are already controlled in some way.

No they're not. Plough a minivan into a crowd. Open the valve on a calor gas cylinder on the bottom floor of an apartment block, then strike a match at the right time. Carbon monoxide on the London Underground.

As I understand it, foot-launched motorised hang-gliding is still fairly unregulated - certainly less so than microlighting, though it's a while since I was in that scene.

Interesting. Looks like it needs to be sitting on its own supports when on the ground - too heavy to be carried by the pilot/user. Therefore not in the "foot launched" category. Can't count as a single seat deregulated microlight (or any microlight for that matter) because it has no wings and therefore wouldn't fulfil the wing loading criteria. So its going to be subject to usual airworthiness requirements. And we know what that means...

Sally..I think the "anyone can fly it comment", relates to its implied ease of use, not its absense of Licensing/regulation ......After all, you can fly anything you like within the confines of your own personal sports hall

These devices seem to crop up every 5 years or so and do seem to get better each time. (though often they are from a USA company and thus automatically claim more than they can deliver)

I'm sceptical of the mile high thing.

Yeah, and one of these guys flew straight into my final approach 2 years ago. I almost chopped him up with my Diamond DA20. And what was this about flying unlicensed again???